Factsheet: Talking with my clients about QuickBooks Desktop product subscription changes and QuickBooks Online Price Increases

At times, QuickBooks® policy and product changes can be challenging to communicate to your clients, especially when clients are looking to you to explain the changes and why they are happening.

As a result, we developed this factsheet to help you discuss the QuickBooks Desktop 2022 product and price changes with your clients. We also understand the important role you play in recommending our products to your clients. Therefore, our goal with this factsheet is to help you communicate that these QuickBooks changes are a result of a business decision made by Intuit® and not by you.

1. Set up the situation
QuickBooks provides you with advance notice of upcoming product changes so you can be in-the-know before your clients. In this instance, we are informing you of our QuickBooks desktop product updates around Sept 28, 2021, and small businesses can expect to be notified of changes on Oct. 12, 2021.

As a principle, we do not communicate pricing and discount information with your firm-billed clients, understanding that accounting professionals have different practices for billing clients for their software.
We encourage you to use this time between the Sept. 28 and Oct. 12 desktop announcements to advise your clients of the upcoming move to subscription, especially those who are currently on QuickBooks Desktop 2019 versions, which will become unsupported in May 2022.

2. Lead with facts
Be prepared to share and explain what is changing. Here’s a summary of the changes we announced on Sept. 8, 2021. We are:

• Transitioning to a subscription model for our Desktop lineup with the 2022 release.
• Introducing the new QuickBooks Desktop Mac Plus subscription.

3. When possible, have a conversation
If you have the opportunity, it’s always better to have a conversation with your clients about product and pricing changes rather than sending an email. You can always follow up with an email later, if so desired. If your client base is too large to make personal calls, call your major clients first, then send emails to smaller clients. Include a confirmation receipt notification with your emails to verify customers received and opened your email. A best practice is to also end your email with an opportunity for a client to call you directly if they have questions.

4. Tell them what they stand to gain
There is a reason why price and product changes happen. Arm yourself with the value the new QuickBooks Desktop 2022 product brings to each and every client. The following points are examples that we encourage you to leverage and use:
Subscription products give customers access to the latest version, with the most up-to-date features, security patches, and support for third-party operating system changes.

• Up to 38% faster, with more reliable QuickBooks computing power (64-bit).
• Unlimited customer support and data recovery at no additional charge (a $299.99 annual value).
• Premium time saving and money management features.
• Increased productivity with the QuickBooks Desktop mobile app.

Please note that clients on older 32-bit computers will not be able to use the 2022 version, which requires a 64-bit compatible Windows operating system. For information on how to check for compatibility for your Plus and Enterprise customers, click here.

---

We love QuickBooks, however it looks like every two to three years there are major price increases. It also appears that Intuit is going to monthly subscription fees with all their products. 

Receive a FULL version of QuickBooks Online with any business monthly service at McVay Business Services. Never pay QuickBooks Subscription Fees again! 

McVay's monthly full service accounts retain master admin on their data file and always retains 100% control and ownership of their business accounting data. 

Mike McVay, Accountant in Pensacola, FL is offering a complementary business consultation and business process review until 12/31/2021. Call today to book your appointment. 

Mike@MikeMcVay.com * 850-725-5696